Megaphone.



SMITH! MEGAPHONE.

APPLIGATEON FILED MAR. 31, 1910.

Patented Aug: 1, 1911.

sfra rns PATENT OFFICE.

MEG-APHONE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 1, 1911.

Application filed March 31, 1910. Serial No. 552,666.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MARY 0. SMITH, of Auburn, in the county of Androscoggin and State of Maine, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Megaphones, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object to providea megaphone adapted to direct sound waves, not only in a forward direction from the operator, but also in a rearward direction, so that sound vibrations transmitted through the megaphone may be heard equally well by persons behind and in front of the operator.

The invention is embodied in a megaphone comprising a trunk tube having a mouth piece into which the operator speaks,

.a forwardly facing horn adapted to direct sound waves forward from the operator, and a rearwardly extending branch tube which is ofiset from the trunk tube and is adapted to extend across the operators head or neck, and terminates in a rearwardlycfacin horn. 25

I he inventionmay also be embodied in a megaphone characterized as above stated and further characterized by additional branch tubes and sound delivering horns adapted to direct sound waves laterally or toward the right and left of the operator.

'Of the accompanying drawings forming a part of the specification,-Figure 1 repre sents aplan View of a megaphone embodying my invention. Fig. 2 represents a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 represents a View similar to Fig. 1 showing the sound delivering horn removed from the branch tubes, the latter being closed by detachable caps.

The same reference characters refer to the same parts in all the figures.

In the drawings, 12 represents a trunk tube having at one end a mouth piece 13 adapted to be applied. to the mouth of the speaker, the trunk tube 12 being adapted to conduct. sound waves from the mouth piece.

14'- represents a sound delivering horn which is preferably of tapering form as shown in the drawings, said horn facing forwardly'so that it is adapted to direct sound waves forward from the speaker.

15 represents a branch tube which'projects from the trunk tube 12, and projects rearwardly and terminates in a rearwardly facing sound delivering horn 16. The form and arrangement of the branch tube 15 and horn 16 are such that the horn is offset fronr v the trunk tube and is adapted to exteml 1 across the operators head or neck so that sound waves may be directed backxmrdly The" branch tube 15 and its horn 16 may be arfrom the operator by the horn 16.

ranged to be supported by a shoulder of the tubes is employed it is obvious that the tube the top of the operators head.

tubes 15 and rearwardly facing hornslGj, these being located at opposite sides or the of the operator. 17 represents right and left of the operator. 19 represents another branch tube which may be employed in connection with the two branch tubes 15 and is arranged to extend upwardly and backwardly over the top of the operators head, said branch tube 19 terminating in a rearwardly facing horn 20.

provision is made for directing sound waves simultaneously forward, backward, and laterally from the operator, so that persons behind and at either side of the operator may hear with the same facility as those located in front of the operator.

In Fig. 3 I have shown the horn distinct from all the branch tubes, the latter being closed by removable caps 21 so that sound waves are directed only by the forwardly facing horn 1 1.

It is obvious that the horn 14.- may be detachably connected with the trunk tube to enable the megaphone to occupy a small space when packed.

extensions 15, the outer members of which are substantially parallel with the trunk tube .12. Thesaid extensions may be rotatable on the body or inner portions of the branch tubes 15, so that the extensions and the horn carried thereby may be extended at different angles and direct the sound angle,

operator, although if only one of said branch 15 and horn 16, instead of being supported by the operators shoulder, may extend over As shown in Fig. 1, there are two of the p laterally projecting branch tubes terminating in horns 18, 18, s'aid'i branch tubes and horns being arranged'to deliver sound waves laterally toward the It will be seen from the foregoing that trunk tube 12, so that when the device in use the two branch tubes 15 andtheirj' horns may be supported by the shoulders? The branch tubes 15 include elbow-shaped v waves either horizontally or at any desired ,deem it necessary to illustrate a telescopic construction.

I do not limit myself as to the number of branch tubes and horns, and as already stated, I may employ either one or more branches and. accompanying horns may be closed by a cap 21, to enable all the soundwaves to be directed through one or more of the branches should this be desirable.

The device being a megaphone islet course portable and, like megaphones in general, is intended to limit the transmission of the sound Waves to substantially horizontal directions. Owing to the fact that there is one sound receiving branch and a plurality of sound distributing branches, all of which are rigidly connected and extend in difierent horizontal directions, the device is especially adaptedwfor distributing the voice of a speaker who may stand within an auditorium or a race-track or ball-field, or wherever announcements are to be made in-connection with athletic sports. The device en ables the speaker to make himself heard equally well by peoplescattered in various directions. sively distributed, the user can remove one or more of the delivering horns 14C, 16 and 18, and apply caps to the tubes from which the horns were removed, thereby readily converting the device to the form best adaptedfor the particular audience to receive the announcements.

I cla1m:-

If the audience is not exten-' A megaphone comprising a trunk tube provided with a mouth piece-at one end, a sound delivering born at the other end, and intermediate branch tubes, elbow extensions rotatably secured to said branch tubes, the outer members of said extensions being normally parallel with said trunk tube, and sound deliver horns connected to said outer members an adapted to rest upon the shoulders of the operator to balance the megaphone and aid n supporting the latter. In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature, in presenceof two witnesses;

MARY 0. SMITH.

Witnesses: i I

DAWN B. Jamar, FOREST E. LUDDEN. 

